Romans 11:3-5 "…3“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”? 4 And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace."
Monday, April 2, 2018
You Are Not Alone
If you feel alone in your devotion to God, if you run into people and family members all the time who dwell in the place of superficiality with little interest in the things of God. You are not alone, just as the prophets were not alone, but felt like they were.
Romans 11:3-5 "…3“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”? 4 And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace."
Romans 11:3-5 "…3“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”? 4 And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace."
The Irony of the Narcissist and the Empath
When our focus is God, then we think about ourselves far less.
We are not Them Anymore
There will be those in our lives who love to remember us the way we were and not the new us in Christ.
They will treat us as though we are still a child or rebellious teenager, when Christ changed that in us many years ago.
These people refuse to see the new you, perhaps because in all their life they have not changed, so they negate any change in us.
Sadly these same people, usually family members, pass on their memories, even false memories of how we were, to other family who never knew us.
When we see that family members who claim to be Christians persist in viewing us in the past, while refusing to see the new you, which has been the new you for 50 years, then it is time to move on.
We tolerate far more from unsaved family than we should from those who claim to be Christians. They should know better, but have chosen their own thoughts and ideas above truth.
Why do they do this? It is simple, these people are so full of pride, they love feeling superior to us, it is unthinkable to them that we have moved on and grown over the years.
When we encounter a Christian who would rather live in the past, continuing to treat us as though we were still children, while leaving a false impression with others, it is time to move on, never looking back.
Matthew 12:47-49 "…47 Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.” 48 But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49 Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers.…"
They will treat us as though we are still a child or rebellious teenager, when Christ changed that in us many years ago.
These people refuse to see the new you, perhaps because in all their life they have not changed, so they negate any change in us.
Sadly these same people, usually family members, pass on their memories, even false memories of how we were, to other family who never knew us.
When we see that family members who claim to be Christians persist in viewing us in the past, while refusing to see the new you, which has been the new you for 50 years, then it is time to move on.
We tolerate far more from unsaved family than we should from those who claim to be Christians. They should know better, but have chosen their own thoughts and ideas above truth.
Why do they do this? It is simple, these people are so full of pride, they love feeling superior to us, it is unthinkable to them that we have moved on and grown over the years.
When we encounter a Christian who would rather live in the past, continuing to treat us as though we were still children, while leaving a false impression with others, it is time to move on, never looking back.
Matthew 12:47-49 "…47 Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.” 48 But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49 Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers.…"
The Gathering
Moving on from family to fulfill what God has for us seems impossible to many people.
So many people who may have a calling different from the road their families want them to walk, give up their goals and God's direction to be with family.
I have had to leave behind all extended family to walk with Christ. They were holding me back through gossip, demeaning and mocking as they hated that I had a different way of thinking.
Every gathering was agonizing, even though they claimed to be Christian they only wanted "play time", a little is alright, but when we ever got onto Biblical principles they were not interested in the truth of the Word, only in their own ideas.
The truth teller is always beaten up when they bring the Bible into a conversation about life principles, even among believers these days.
The Bereans were called "noble" by God for going to the Scripture to see if what Paul said matched with the Word. When we try to do this in our day, the believers sabotage the conversation to divert it from the word of God.
There were many times when I wanted to go to the Bible to search for the truth in a conversation with believers, but didn't bother because of the hostility of someone involved in the conversation.
Many gatherings are more about everyone just enjoying one another than about discovering truth about a matter. It would have been seen as weird to drag out the Bible to prove a point.
When we are in a Christian gathering we ought to be able to bring the Scriptures into the conversation as evidence of our point. Since everyone just wants to be validated rather than discovering truth, it is considered rude in our culture to bring the Bible into it, someone might be embarrassed that they were wrong, become angry and the fun time is ruined.
I enjoy playing games too with kind and loving family members, there is a time for this, however when that is all that happens in these gatherings, then they have little value for the believer.
Yep, this is the nature of our Christian gatherings today. Many gather to validate and praise one another, not to enjoy fellowship around the Word of God, growing and learning together.
So many people who may have a calling different from the road their families want them to walk, give up their goals and God's direction to be with family.
I have had to leave behind all extended family to walk with Christ. They were holding me back through gossip, demeaning and mocking as they hated that I had a different way of thinking.
Every gathering was agonizing, even though they claimed to be Christian they only wanted "play time", a little is alright, but when we ever got onto Biblical principles they were not interested in the truth of the Word, only in their own ideas.
The truth teller is always beaten up when they bring the Bible into a conversation about life principles, even among believers these days.
The Bereans were called "noble" by God for going to the Scripture to see if what Paul said matched with the Word. When we try to do this in our day, the believers sabotage the conversation to divert it from the word of God.
There were many times when I wanted to go to the Bible to search for the truth in a conversation with believers, but didn't bother because of the hostility of someone involved in the conversation.
Many gatherings are more about everyone just enjoying one another than about discovering truth about a matter. It would have been seen as weird to drag out the Bible to prove a point.
When we are in a Christian gathering we ought to be able to bring the Scriptures into the conversation as evidence of our point. Since everyone just wants to be validated rather than discovering truth, it is considered rude in our culture to bring the Bible into it, someone might be embarrassed that they were wrong, become angry and the fun time is ruined.
I enjoy playing games too with kind and loving family members, there is a time for this, however when that is all that happens in these gatherings, then they have little value for the believer.
Yep, this is the nature of our Christian gatherings today. Many gather to validate and praise one another, not to enjoy fellowship around the Word of God, growing and learning together.
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